Striker on the agenda as Poppies prepare to return

Jon Dunham

And joint-manager Thomas Baillie has set his sights on finding one more striker to add to his squad as the Poppies prepare for the new Southern League Division One Central campaign.

Despite the departure of Dean Thomas last month, Kettering have managed to retain the vast majority of the squad that only missed out on promotion to the Premier Division when they were beaten 3-2 by Slough Town in the play-off final at Latimer Park.

Baillie and Scott Machin, who were installed as joint-bosses after Thomas left due to increased work commitments, have also brought both Brett Solkhon and Andy Hall back to the club as they bid for another promotion push.

While the squad looks to be fairly strong in terms of numbers already, Baillie has admitted that a new frontman will be needed to challenge Josh Moreman and Dubi Ogbonna, who are set to start the new campaign as the first-choice strikers.

And Baillie is hoping something will develop from the trialists who have been invited to join the first-team squad for the early stages of pre-season.

The joint-manager said: “We are happy with the squad as it stands.

“If there is one area we need to look at it would be in the striking department.

“We have Josh Moreman and Dubi Ogbonna and there are others who are capable of playing up front. But it’s unrealistic to expect them to go through the whole season unscathed.

“We have been looking around but we are also in an unusual situation where we have had players coming to us and asking us for an opportunity to prove themselves.

“That’s a good thing for the club and we have invited a few in for the start of pre-season and we will take a look at them and see what is on offer.

“I am talking about players who aren’t interested in what money is on offer, nothing like that has been discussed.

“They want to come and play for Kettering and Scott and I are happy to give them that chance to show us what they can do.”